The shape of things to come....

[Helmut Head]

I bought a nice 1998 Mercian - King of Mercia - I knew when I bought it the headset would need changing at some point, so, I set about stripping it down only to find there was damage to the threads on the fork steerer - not too bad but enough to cross thread aluminium.
No problem thinks I - I'll nip down to my LBS and ask him to chase the threads out. The shop is relatively new - only been open for 3 or 4 years, it's obviously full of carbon bikes etc. owned by a young-ish fella (to me anyway!) he takes a look and says sorry mate I haven't got the tooling to do that.
I can't help thinking that it won't be long before bike mechanics won't have any experience with anything steel.

 

[Tootyred]

Won't be long! Its already here. If it don't come in a box ready to fit forget it with most big shops.

 

[bikeworkshop]

UKs largest cycle retailers dont want to fix old stuff.

It's too complicated, there's risk and specialist knowledge required.

It applies to whole bikes too - we fix loads of quality old bikes where the chain store tells the owners to dispose of them and buy (lower quality) new ones.

It takes a lot of work, skill, time, knowledge and stock to make £100 fixing old stuff.
Same as you'd make selling a basic £360 new bike, that you can read about online, and comes in a box with an instruction manual.

Some chain stores don't even set them up unless you pay extra! And then they do a sh1t job

 

[Tootyred]

Sadly Too true.

However, in defence of a new bike shop, it could be that he genuinely doesn't have that bit of kit. To be frank, i doubt it would be high on my list of purchases when starting out. Nice to have but.......

Then again he could just be an "open box..bolt it on" merchant too.

 

[juvela]

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I bought a nice 1998 Mercian - King of Mercia - I knew when I bought it the headset would need changing at some point, so, I set about stripping it down only to find there was damage to the threads on the fork steerer - not too bad but enough to cross thread aluminium.
No problem thinks I - I'll nip down to my LBS and ask him to chase the threads out. The shop is relatively new - only been open for 3 or 4 years, it's obviously full of carbon bikes etc. owned by a young-ish fella (to me anyway!) he takes a look and says sorry mate I haven't got the tooling to do that.
I can't help thinking that it won't be long before bike mechanics won't have any experience with anything steel.

---



and steerer threadin' be but one item...

then thar be friction shifting systems

cottered chainsets & their bottom brackets

gear blocks with < vii-cogs

clamp-on parts & accessories...


...eetsa longue list!


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[vtwinvince]

I dropped by my local MC shop to see if they wanted to work on my '85 GPZ900. They looked at me like I was insane.

 

[novocaine]

I dropped by my local MC shop to see if they wanted to work on my '85 GPZ900. They looked at me like I was insane.

I suspect I'd get the same response for my 2002 bike. No where to plug it in.

 

[Tootyred]

You will notice motorbike shops now have technicians...not mechanics. There be the difference.

No they won't fix anything with carbs...don't be silly..that requires years of experience and some intuitive skills.....plus somebody to teach them.

Oil filter, air filter, pump up tyres. You may have to look at a spark pludg, but then you will chuck it and put a new one in. Service done for up to the first 3 years. That's all you need to know...so that's all they know.

As @novocaine says no port...no fix.

Don't worry with Di2 bikes are going the same way .

Wow, I've got cynical!

 

[pigman]

Exactly like the motor industry. At present, we still have traditional mechanics and older models in use. But ... new cars have sealed engines, no local disassembly and repairs. It's returned to the factory and often a new engine is recommended. Tooling is becoming manufacturer specific so that only franchaised dealers have the kit
It's the way of the world. If a component can't be repaired (read replaced) for maximum profit then renew the whole product be that car, bike, stereo etc. And if it needs a spanner instead of a computer to fix, then it's old tat

 

[Tootyred]

The other issue is that spannering is not a good earner. If your a kid on £13 and hour its fun...then you leave as its still going to be £13 an hour for the rest of your life...unless your lucky....and you cant live on that.....driving for tesco will earn you more than having an engineering practical skill.

Problem stems from the cold fact you have to pay for skills as a consumer, but none of us want to.....especially when its sadly cheaper to trade / chuck the bike/ part away.

I hear it all the time. "This bike needs £200 of repairs...and it will still be old and therefore rubbish" ... " but we can sell you this bso for £300 with a warranty " . Oh god help us...we are doomed.